Why the 49ers insist that they didn't accuse the Jaguars of cheating

This was a bit strange.

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Robert Saleh called out the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, Liam Coen, and his coaching staff. The question is whether the callout was more of a slight or a compliment. 

Are the San Francisco 49ers accusing the Jacksonville Jaguars of cheating?

According to Saleh, Coen has put together a staff that is very strong at what he called ‘sign stealing.’ When you talk about stealing in sports, it is going to tend to drum up conversation about potential cheating, and what kind of accusations were being made. 

Robert Saleh says the Jaguars offense has a signal stealing system that’s legal:

“Liam Coen and his staff coming from Minnesota they got legally a really advanced signal stealing system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation. They do a great… pic.twitter.com/XVJfPKhL2y

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 25, 2025

However, while Saleh did use the term stealing, he was also sure to say the word legally multiple times. Legal stealing is a bit of an oxymoron, so it makes sense why the quote took on a life of its own as everyone tried to decipher what Saleh meant. 

Kyle Shanahan was asked about it and helped clarify for his defensive coordinator. 

Kyle Shanahan on Robert Saleh’s comments about the Jaguars signal stealing system:

“It’s very common. I think he was trying to give them a compliment.”

Kyle was asked how good is he at stealing signals:

“We don’t need to do that. We truly believe in being fair in every… pic.twitter.com/sQIkfBfdfE

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 26, 2025

As Shanahan mentions, this is likely much less of a slight than a lot of people in the media are making it out to be. Saleh notably said it was a legal action, and Shanahan said that he would have taken the accusation as a compliment. 

Even Liam Coen admitted that his staff is good at what Saleh was accusing. He wanted to brush off the talk that it was stealing, but when phrased with the idea that it was more about gathering information, he was much more open about the process. 

Liam Coen seemingly shuts down all questions about Robert Saleh’s “sign stealing” comments.

Talking about it now on the Brent & Austen show. Hop in the chat w us‼️ pic.twitter.com/gVsdINIWOk

— Jason Hamby (@Jason_Hamby14) September 26, 2025

Coen noted that he does have a group that looks at tendencies, signals, movements, and things of that nature to pick things up. All of the things that his staff pick up on are wide open for everyone to see.

They are not getting insider access, and they are not using anything illegal to pass the signs to each other. Jacksonville likely has a lot of the same tells and signals based on how they play. 

The difference is that Jacksonville is putting a lot more time into deciphering the meaning and understanding what the public displays means. 

When you hear Peyton Manning yell ‘omaha’ on TV, or when you see a quarterback pound his fists together to signal to the defense, you go about enjoying the game, but the Jaguars coaching staff is understanding what those signals and calls mean to keep their players more informed.

It is one way to spend time and resources, and Saleh acknowledged it. That is about the end of where this story should go.